1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rack.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is provided a rack on which a plurality of apparatuses can be shelved. For example, a plurality of servers and a plurality of apparatuses to be connected to each server are shelved on this rack. This is to save space by shelving various electronic apparatuses on the rack.
The rack is adaptable to such a use as that a plurality of apparatuses having the same function are shelved and connected to different servers independently, and that a single apparatus is connected to a plurality of servers and the plurality of servers share the single apparatus.
When data stored in a server shelved on this type of rack is to be backed up or when the battery of a Uninterruptible Power Supply shelved on this type of rack is to be replaced with a new one, it is necessary to identify connective relations between servers and apparatuses.
However, it is impossible to identify connective relations between servers and apparatuses just by looking at the rack from its front. Therefore, in order to carry out the above kinds of works, the operator has to memorize the connective relations when he/she connects the apparatuses, or has to check the cable connections at the back of the rack when actually carrying out the works.
Meanwhile, there is proposed in, for example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. H09-330184, an invention for use in a RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks) system, which is capable of specifying the numbers, etc. assigned to disk devices or bodies of disks by lighting LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) corresponding to the respective disk devices.
However, it is not always the case that each apparatus to be shelved on the rack has a display device for displaying the connective relation of the apparatus. Further, since each apparatus to be shelved on the rack is a finished product, it is impossible to attach a display element to each apparatus or to modify the circuit of each apparatus unlike the case of the above-mentioned system.